


The Moon Spirit Provides

by CherriesJubilee (Cherries_Jubilee)



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Eventual Sokka/Zuko (Avatar), M/M, Spirits, Waterbender!Sokka, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-23
Updated: 2020-12-03
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:20:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27671270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cherries_Jubilee/pseuds/CherriesJubilee
Summary: Sokka dies, but then he doesn’t. With a side effect of some nifty new bending abilities.
Relationships: Aang/Katara (Avatar), Sokka/Yue (Avatar), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 18
Kudos: 58





	1. 1

It was all fading. Suki ran out the door, screaming for Katara, while Zuko held Sokka’s head in his lap while lying through a forced smile that he would be okay. He reached up and touched Zuko’s cheek, and gave him a weak smile.

“Thanks.” He whispered.

Sokka felt himself falling into the darkness.

* * *

Somehow, he was alive. But he wasn’t in his home in the Souther Water Tribe, or at the Fire Nation Palace. He was in in the spirit oasis, from the Northern Water Tribe. Sokka sat up, and pain pierced his stomach. He looked down to see crimson staining the Kyoshi Warrior’s uniform. That’s right. He had been stabbed by the assassin, instead of Zuko. He smiled to himself. Sokka had done his job a little too well.

“Hello, Sokka.” An ethereal voice greeted. He looked up to lock eyes with someone he thought he’d never see.

“Yue!” He smiled, leaping up before he remembered he’d been stabbed. Sokka winced and clutched his side and Yue floated over to him.

She reached out and gently touched his wound, and it healed itself, the only evidence of it being the blood on his uniform. Yue smiled, and hugged Sokka tightly. “I’ve missed you.”

“I missed you, too.” He glanced around the spirit oasis. “I guess I’m... dead?”

Yue shook her head. “No, you’re still alive. But your sister can’t heal all of the damage, and believes you are going to die.”

He sighed, and rubbed the back of his neck. “At least the assassin got caught. Then I at least did something.”

“You did more than something.” She took his face in one hand, and turned him to face her. “You saved the Firelord. And the Avatar, who the assassin was also there to kill. You didn’t deserve to die.”

“Neither did you.” He murmured, remembering the night Yue became the Moon Spirit.

Yue smiled, and held Sokka’s face between her hands. “If I hadn’t become the Moon Spirit, I couldn’t give you this.” She pressed her lips against Sokka’s forehead.

His body began fading from the spirit world. He froze, watching his limbs disappear. Sokka looked Yue in the eye. “Thank you for coming to see me again.” She said, with a peaceful smile across her face. “And you’re welcome for the gift.”

* * *

He gasped and sat up, panting heavily as he sent the entire room into a panic at his sudden change in condition. Sokka was half submerged in a pool of water, where Katara had been healing him. “Sokka!” She exclaimed, pulling into a suffocating hug.

“Hey, Katara.”

She released him from his hug, and Toph punched him in the shoulder. “What the hell were you thinking?” She shouted.

“I was doing my job!” Sokka argued. He rubbed his shoulder where she had punched him. “Besides, it worked. Assassin didn’t get Zuko, good job Sokka.”

“You almost died.” Katara clutched his shoulders, shaking him. “Sokka, we thought you were _dead.”_

“And now I’m not, yay?” He made a half hearted jazz hands, but Katara was unamused.

Zuko and Aang burst into the hut where Sokka had been healing. Aang all but fell in the water to pull Sokka into another rib crunching hug. He sniffled, squeezing tighter. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”

Sokka patted Aang on the back. “You’re not rid of me that easily.” He assured him. Aang let out a shaky chuckle.

After Aang finally let go, Sokka pulled himself from the pool. Katara handed him a shirt, and Sokka finally realized he’d been shirtless and incredibly cold this entire time. He pulled it over his head, and wrapped himself in a blanket.

“Are we in the South Poke again?” He asked her.

“Yeah, we had Appa fly you back here so I could heal you. The healers in the Fire Nation couldn’t do much to help.”

Sokka stepped out into the cold, feeling it sting his face. He sighed contentedly, and smiled. He hadn’t been home in a while. Katara helped him walked back to their house, and he laid down on his bed to just stare at the ceiling.

A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door. “Come on in.” He called out.

Zuko opened the door, looking rather sad and nervous. “I wanted to thank you... for... y’know.”

“Getting stabbed in your place?” He teased. Zuko shifted uncomfortably. “Anytime.”

Zuko smiled, and walked over to Sokka to give him a hug. “When we thought you weren’t going to make it, I... I don’t know what I would’ve done without you.”

“I’m all good now.”

“It’s kind of a miracle. Katara said the dagger you were stabbed with was poisoned, and she couldn’t fix it by the time you got to the South Pole.” He explained. “How... never mind.”

Sokke decided not to tell him about his meeting with Yue. It might make Zuko feel worse if he knew that the only reason he had lived is because he kissed the Moon Spirit once. He shrugged. “I dunno, buddy. Maybe it wasn’t very strong.”

He could tell Zuko didn’t fully believe him, but he would have to deal with that at a later date. For now, he hugged Zuko back and prayed that he would let it go. “I’m needed back in the Fire Nation.” He said. “I want you to take as much time as you need to get better.”

“I’m already all healed up, just let me go get Katara for one last healing session—”

“No way. You stay here and recover. I’ll have Suki as my guard instead for a little while. Your health comes first.”

Sokka sighed and smiled, nudging Zuko with his shoulder. “Thanks.”

* * *

He waved Zuko off, and watched as he flew out of sight into the cloudy sky on Appa. Aang went with him, promising to come back as soon as possible whenever he wrapped up whatever business he had in the Fire Nation. Sokka felt like there was a weight on his heart whenever Zuko left. It was no secret Sokka was a bit of a workaholic sometimes, and he enjoyed his job in Zuko’s guard. Mostly, he enjoyed being around Zuko.

Sokka sighed and went back inside. Being away for so long really didn’t help him now, as he ran into a table when he came in the door too fast, knocking a vase onto the floor, and shattering it. He groaned and started to pick up the large pieces of the base to dispose of them. Sokka noticed a small piece poking out from under the table, and absentmindedly reached down to pick it up.

He failed to realize that the piece was angled, and stabbed himself on a corner. Sokka grimaced as blood flowed out of his hand, and went into his room to clean it up. His list of things to fix kept getting longer. He would have to call for Katara to patch him up, which would no doubt lead to a lecture about getting stabbed and that he needed to be more careful. Without a clue of what else to do without Katara around, he grabbed a rag and dipped it into a basin of water, pressing it against his hand.

A not-quite-warm-but-not-that-cold sensation ran across the palm of his hand. Curious, he lifted the rag to find the cut was gone. He was sure it had been deep enough that a rag of cold water wouldn’t fix it up, but there no cut. There wasn’t even a scar, actually. An interesting idea struck him: what if he could waterbend?

He shook it off. Sokka had tried to bend water growing up, slightly jealous of Katara’s bending capabilities. After a year of failing at it, he resigned himself to the truth that he was a non-bender. He had grown to be more than okay with it, but his inability to bend had always bothered him when he was a child. Sokka could remember standing at the waters edge, mimicking the motions Katara went through when she practiced her bending, trying to do the same. Nothing ever happened.

But then, how would the cut heal itself? Maybe the water was spirit water, like the kind from the Northern Water Tribe, or maybe Katara had done something to it. Or maybe he had just been wrong about the cut, and it only grazed the skin and only surprised him. Sokka brushed it off, and went back to cleaning up the vase.

* * *

“Package!” Katara shouted from the main part of the house. Sokka poked his head out of his room to see her holding up a wrapped parcel.

“Who’s it from?” He sat cross legged in front of the heart, holding the package in his lap.

“Zuko sent it, along with a letter from Aang for me. He said he’ll be coming back here in a few days.”

Sokka’s ears only “Zuko sent it” and he began untying the string holding it together. Pulling back the paper, he revealed—

“Space sword! I can’t believe he found it!”

Katara chuckled and handed him the letter. “He said he had a group of guards find it along a river bank. Zuko figured you would want something to do since you’re not back in the Fire Nation.”

“He was absolutely right. I’ve missed it.” Sokka smiled as he stood up and held his sword, swinging it experimentally.

“Not in the house.” Katara ordered.

“Sorry.” He grabbed his sword and jogged out of the house, standing in the snow outside. Sokka practiced his forms for several hours. It had been so long since he had just practiced the motions.

When he finished, the sun had already set. He headed back inside, where Katara had made his favorite: Sea Prune Stew. “Smells great!” Sokka chirped, sitting down at the table as Katara passed him a bowl.

“You’re certainly in higher spirits.” She sat down as well, spooning some of the stew into her mouth.

Sokka grinned as he swallowed. “I missed my sword. It was nice to mess around for a little while. Gotta be ready for when I go back to the Fire Nation.”

Katara’s good mood faltered, and she set down her spoon. “I don’t want you going back. It’s too dangerous.”

“Well, of course it’s dangerous, I’m the Firelord’s guard. Someone has to do it.”

“Someone else will have to do it. You’ve done enough for Zuko, considering you almost died for him.”

So _that’s_ what this was about. “I’ve almost died lots of times!” He stood up and slammed his palms on the table. “It’s not Zuko’s fault that he was almost assassinated. I want to go back, and do the job I signed up for. I’m a grown man, Katara, and I’m doing this.”

“I’m not letting you! You can’t keep risking your life like this.”

“The Kyoshi Warriors are counting on me. So’s the White Lotus. And Zuko. I _want_ to do this. If that means I die, then so be it.”

He stormed out of the hut, ignoring Katara’s shouts. He went to the new cultural center that had been built recently. It was beautiful, with flowing fountains in the main entry way. The Northern Tribe had helped them build it, and he requested it be named in Yue’s honor. Her father agreed.

Sokka sat down on the ledge of one of the fountains, dipping his fingers into the water. A door opened behind him. He turned to see Aang coming in. “Hey.”

“Hey,” Sokka stood up, keeping his arms folded in on himself.

“I... heard about Katara and your fight.” He admitted, rubbing his elbow.

Sokka sighed. “I don’t get why she thinks she gets to decide what I do. It’s so irritating.”

“She’s—”

“—just looking out for me, yeah, yeah.” He raised his hands. “But I told her that I wanted to do it. Needed to, really. I don’t even think the problem is me being in danger, it’s that she still has some beef with Zuko she never got over.”

Aang shifted, staring at the floor. “I think I know why.”

“Let me guess, you can’t tell me?”

He nodded, smiling nervously. “It’s not my secret to tell. But I assure you, Katara will get over it.”

Sokka groaned, balling his hands into fists. “I wish she would just listen to me, instead of barreling ahead with her own plans. She doesn’t get to tell me what I do with my life, and she’s definitely not going to start now!” His anger boiled over, and behind him, there was a loud _splash_ of water falling over the edge of the fountain. He turned around, realizing there was a giant puddle on the floor, half emptying the fountain. “What the—”

Sokka spun around to see a shocked Aang, gaping open-mouthed at the fountain. It clicked. “I did that?” He shouted, backing away from the fountain.

“But—” Aang stuttered.

“I’m not a bender. Did you do it? Is this a prank?”

He shook his head, still watching the fountain like he expected it to do it again. “You bent the water.”

“I’m... a waterbender?” Sokka stared at his hands.

He thought back to his dream meeting with Yue. _“You’re welcome for the gift.”_

“I have something to tell you.”

“Does it have to do with the fact that you’re secretly a bender?”

“Yes.” He sighed. “I... Yue used her Moon Spirit powers to keep me from dying.”

“Yeah, okay, that makes much more sense than you suddenly being a bender.”

“I think she also gave me waterbending when she made me not dead.”

“Okay then. Yes, that makes perfect sense.” Aang nodded, not really being sure how this was happening still. “Should we tell Katara?”

“Yes, we should tell the waterbending master.” Sokka hissed.

Aang bent the water back into the fountain, before walking back to the house with Sokka. Katara was still mad. “Um. I have something important to tell you.” Sokka started, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Unless you’re telling me that you won’t go back to the Fire Nation I don’t want to hear it.” She refused to look at him.

“You know what? You’re impossible! This could be life changing and you won’t even listen because you’re hung up on something stupid!” He shouted, causing the stew in the soup bowls to rise up and splat onto the table.

Katara whirled around in shock, and Sokka realized what had happened. “By the way, I’m a waterbender now.”


	2. 2

Katara gaped at Sokka, swiveling her gaze between the bowl and Sokka. "Wh-- when did this happen?" She spluttered.

"I just found out, too!" Sokka threw his hands up in exasperation. "I think it has something to do with Yue--"

"Yue? Sokka, Yue is in the spirit world. When did you see Yue?"

"I know she's in the spirit world," he snapped, "I kinda saw her when I died for a little while."

Katara shrieked in frustration. "That information would have been useful earlier."

"Maybe if we all just calmed down, we can figure out what's going on here." Aang interjected, smiling forcibly.

She took a few deep breaths and ran a hand through her hair. “Okay, alright.” Katara agreed. “We'll just figure out how to get rid of it and then it’ll all go back to normal.

It should have been a good idea. Just go back to the way things were before, and never have to worry about it. Sokka was moved back to when they found out Katara was a bender, and how proud his parents were. The hours he spent at the waters edge, mirroring her movements, willing the water to do what he wanted. All the times he had been left out of the fight because he wasn’t a bender, and how he had always been “Katara the waterbending prodigy’s brother.”

He didn’t need to be a prodigy. He was okay without bending. But now that he had this great, new power, he didn’t really want to just “go back to how it was.” Sokka needed this, to protect everyone. To protect Zuko, the next time an assassin attacked. He swallowed, but his mouth was dry. “Maybe...” he croaked, “We could just leave it.”

“What?” Katara looked at him in bewilderment. “You want to keep this? Sokka, you’re a non-bender. You have no idea how—”

“You could teach me. I-I really want to do this.”

“This is about you going back to the Fire Nation, isn’t it?” She snapped.

Sokka huffed, throwing his hands down in exasperation. “You want me to be safe. If I can waterbend, then I will definitely be safe. Just think about it, this is perfect. It won’t be the end of the Southern Waterbenders, and I’ll be able to fight even better.”

“He’s got a point.” Aang interjected, laying a hand on Katara’s shoulder. “I think you should teach Sokka.”

Katara frowned deeper, and brushed Aang’s hand off her shoulder. “It’s a bad idea. We shouldn’t be messing with it when we don’t understand yet. Sokka’s bending might be dangerous.”

“Katara, it’s not just your choice. If anything, it’s better for you to teach him, so that he can control his powers.”

“And what will you do if I don’t?” She snapped, “I’m the last Southern Waterbender, and I say no.”

“You’re not the only waterbender.” Aang had a serious look on his face, which was unusual for someone usually so chipper. “Either you teach him, or I will.”

Katara looked taken aback by his statement. She sighed and rubbed her temples. “Fine.”

“I’ll visit the spirit world, and see if I can find Yue. Maybe I can ask her what happened.” Aang suggested.

She frowned and mumbled something in reply, stalking out of the house. Aang watched her go, sighing to himself. “Thanks.” Sokka said, “For standing up for me.”

Aang smiled, patting Sokka on the shoulder. “No problem.”

He sighed. “Now I just need to find out how to explain this to everyone.”


	3. 3

Sokka stood at the waters edge, concentrating on the mirror-like surface. _Just like Katara showed you._ He raised his hand in front of him, performing the upward sweeping motion. A small, slightly deformed sphere of water lifted from the pool, wavering in shape for a bit before dropping back into the water, disrupting the calm. “There! Did you see that? I did it.” Sokka exclaimed, turning to Katara.

She held an empty expression, raising an eyebrow. “There’s much more to bending than just tossing it around.”

“I know.” He grumbled. Sokka turned his attention back to the water. “I just thought it was cool.”

He kept on with the motion until, with great concentration, he could maintain the water above the surface, even moving it a little bit. It wasn’t much, especially compared to Katara, but it was a starting point. Katara stepped away from the water, asking Aang to fill in for a while. Aang readily agreed.

Under Aang, he practiced the push and pull of the water, managing to make a stream of water, and keep control over it. “It feels kind of like a third arm. I mean, it’s really cool, but really weird.”

“Your bending is supposed to be an extension of yourself, like your sword. Just think of it that way. I guess it might be kind of hard to get at first, since you’ve been a non-bender all your life.” Aang explained, waving around his own ring of water.

Sokka tried it again, smiling to himself as he worked through the motions. Katara came running back to where they were practicing. “Suki, Zuko, and Toph are here.” She wrung her hands, nervously pulling on her gloves.

He took a deep breath and strode towards the area where the ships docked. Toph proudly stepped off the ship, confident in her new metal bending abilities. “Hey Snoozles!” She shouted, hopping into the snow before bouncing back. Toph cursed. “I hate the South Pole. Ground’s to cold.”

Zuko walked off the ship behind her, sending a blast of fire on the ground in front of her, melting the snow. Sokka grinned as he greeted Zuko. “Good to see ya, Buddy!”

“It’s good to see you’re all healed up. No issues with your injury?” He asked, smiling at Sokka.

Sokka shook his head. “None at all. But, uh, there is something I need to tell you guys.”

He gestured for them to follow him to the waters edge. Taking a deep breath, he raised his arms, lifting a stream of water from the pool. Zuko inhaled sharply. “Whoa...” Suki exclaimed.

“What’s going on?” Toph demanded.

“Sokka’s a water bender.” Zuko exclaimed, gaze transfixed on the water floating above the surface.

Sokka dropped it back into the water, sheepishly turning back to face his friends. He made a weak jazz hands. “Ta-da?”

“How—How did this happen?” Suki asked, eyes wide in surprise.

He shrugged. “We think it had something to due with the fact that I almost died. I, uh, met Yue in a dream and she kinda brought me back to life. And somehow this happened.”

Zuko blinked in surprise, snapping out of his amazement. “Wait, wait, you _died?”_

“Just for like, a minute.”

He stared at Sokka in disbelief. “Sokka, you need to tell us about things like that.” Zuko spluttered.

“Okay, well, I didn’t. But look, yay, Sokka’s a water bender!” Sokka pat Zuko on the shoulder. “Now I’m really ready to protect you!”

“Sokka...” Zuko said, “I don’t think you should return with the Kyoshi Warriors.”

Sokka didn’t resister the words right away. He chuckled weakly. “What?”

“I’ve talked it over with Katara, and we agree that you should stay in the South Pole. Your tribe needs protecting.”

“From what?” He shouted. “The war is over, and quite frankly, I’m pretty useless when it comes to this whole architecture and rebuilding thing. Katara has been handling it, so I’m not needed here. I can go back, I want to go back—”

“My decision is final.” Zuko declared with a blank expression. “I couldn’t ask you to risk your life for me again. Stay at your home.”

Sokka grimaced and balled up his fists. “What about what I want? I _want_ to go back to the Fire Nation. You can’t decide that for me.”

“Then you’re fired.” Zuko stated.

He froze in shock, staring at the Fire Lord in front of him. Sokka scoffed, and turned to the gate. “Screw this,” he muttered, before stalking away from Zuko.

How dare he tell him what to do? How dare _Katara_ get involved with his personal matters? Sokka was enraged, storming to his room and slamming the door. He glanced at the basin of water on the table. With a quick motion, he sent it flying out of the basin and onto the ground.

Sokka took a deep breath and reminded himself that Katara was just doing what she thought was best. Even if that happened to involve meddling in his life. He bent the water back into the basin, taking a moment to congratulate himself for starting to get the hang of waterbending, and opened the door.

Katara and Zuko were standing outside. “I’m going back, and nothing you two say can stop me,” He declared.

Katara started to protest. “But—”

“Nope. It’s my decision. I am a member of the Kyoshi Warriors and the Kyoshi Warriors are protecting Zuko. Therefore, I will be going back to the Fire Nation to do my job.”

She huffed and put her hands on her hips. “Fine. But I’m not healing you up if you get yourself stabbed again.”

Sokka threw his arms around her shoulders. “Thank you, sister dearest. Now, when are we heading out?”

He looked to Zuko, who was wringing his hands. “Are you sure?” He asked again. “You don’t want to stay back and heal up a little more?”

“Zuko, I got this. I’ve got my space sword and now I can waterbend. No assassin is getting past me.” Sokka winked and grinned at him.

Zuko sighed, and smiled weakly. “We head out tomorrow morning.”

“Awesome! Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go find Aang so he can finish teaching me waterbending. He promised he would show me how to do that ice dagger thing you use, Katara.”

“Absolutely not, when you and Aang are together it’s like all common sense dissolves!”

He ducked under Katara’s arm and sprinted away before she could stop him.


End file.
